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Restoration
to Greatness
by Rev.
Myrl Eddings
Long
ago, lived the Nazarite Samson, as recorded in the book of Judges. This notable man of
valor did legendary exploits under the influence of the hand of the Lord. The account of how Delilah deceived and betrayed
him is well known. It all started when his
attention was drawn away from godly ambitions to that of a baser sort, against the advice
of his parents. Stubbornly, he unwittingly
persisted to seek after that which, in the end, would bring him harm. As time went on, the two spent much time together
and Samson befriended the temptress. Of
course, Samson’s ill-fated trust in someone less than trustworthy led to his
captivity and eventual loss of vision, strength, and prestige.
In
addition to misplacing his trust, the Biblical warrior revealed the secret to his power to
someone who sought to take advantage of him. It’s
worth observing how the imprudent man of God approached ever closer to unveiling the truth
within him. Having drifted away from safety,
he still had opportunity to take heed and avert danger at this point in his experience. Yet, even after attempts were made to capture him,
Samson ignored any suspicions he may have had. Without
the knowledge provided by the man of God himself, the Philistines would have been
incapable of defeating Samson.
These
mistakes weren’t exclusive to the miracle man of old.
For, so it goes in life with the wayward child of God. Jesus warned those to come not to cast their
pearls before swine (Matt. 7:6) in order to guard against their assault on God’s
chosen ones. He also explained that he spoke in parables to shroud certain truths from
malicious listeners (Luke 8:10). Paul strongly advised the Corinthian church that
believers should not routinely fellowship with unbelievers or be unequally yoked with
them.
Satan comes to steal, kill, and
destroy (John 10:10), and doesn’t mind letting others conspire with him to accomplish
his dastardly plots against mankind. He’s not one to waste time, either.
The Savior advised that the enemy would immediately come to take away the seed of
the Word of God that is sown in the heart (Matt. 13:19). Unfortunately, his
schemes are often cleverly disguised, with notions such as the end justifies the means,
the rationalization of holding grudges or insisting on our own way, no matter what the
cost. We should be wise to see that these tactics are contrived of the devil. In
fact, Jesus admonished his followers to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matt.
10:16). Paul went so far to say that we’re not ignorant of Satan’s
schemes (II Cor. 2:11). The key is to recognize those efforts to skew our faith.
As
with most anything, living unwisely has consequences.
We should remember that, despite our optimism, some people are tools of
Satan to work against us, willingly or ignorantly. For
this reason, we believers must entrust our innermost thoughts and truths to a select group
of likeminded souls. Sometimes the wisest
thing we can do is simply to keep quiet! And,
naturally, our time with sinners should be minimal outside of witnessing. Without question, Lucifer has many traps set for
each one of us. If we become ensnared in
those pitfalls, we will experience a loss of spiritual power and vision, and will wear
reproach as a favorite sports coat until we repent. There is hope for the prodigal gone
astray. Jesus is waiting to forgive and
cleanse us of our sin and restore us to former glory.
Like the mighty Samson, we can arise in renewed power and shine with the
glory of the Lord as we defeat the enemy once again.
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